Paul Goldschmidt had a challenging season in the majors, but he is making adjustments to his approach this spring. These adjustments were beneficial for him towards the end of 2024, giving him a more positive outlook.

The 37-year-old can’t afford not to, especially after what was an especially rough first five months of the regular season at the plate.

But the focus for Goldschmidt, who signed a one-year, $12.5 million deal with the Yankees this offseason, isn’t solely on his bat.

It’s also at first base, where Goldschmidt is a four-time Gold Glove winner, most recently in 2021.

His defensive metrics have slipped in recent years, although those numbers aren’t as reliable at first base as they are at other spots on the field.

However, Goldschmidt acknowledges that he has a lot of work to do this spring. He is now part of the restructured Yankee infield, where only Anthony Volpe remains in his previous position from last year.

Aside from Goldschmidt playing at first base, Jazz Chisholm Jr. has transitioned from third base to second base to make better use of his athleticism. Meanwhile, the team is in search of a replacement for Chisholm at third base, with Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza as the top contenders, while DJ LeMahieu is sidelined due to a left calf injury.

“I’m getting to know the infielders,” Goldschmidt said at Steinbrenner Field this week in advance of his fifth Grapefruit League game of the spring on Sunday, an 11-1 loss to Atlanta. “I’m used to getting a new infielder every year and now I’m the new one, so I’ll have three or four different guys to learn.”

He’s not anticipating many issues, especially from the middle of the diamond.

“I’ve seen Jazz play third, so if he can play third, short and center, he can play second,’’ Goldschmidt said. “Seeing him up close, he’s gonna make some throws and other plays other second basemen aren’t making. He could play shortstop, just not on this team with Volpe there.”

Goldschmidt added he hadn’t seen much of Volpe while playing with the Cardinals, but has so far been impressed.

“I knew he won a Gold Glove, and he’s just really smart over there,’’ Goldschmidt said.

With Chisholm at second and Volpe at short, there’s still “I Don’t Know” at third. Whoever ends up there, Goldschmidt said he would be putting in extra work to get accustomed to the various angles his new teammates throw from.

“Everyone’s throws move a little different,’’ Goldschmidt said.

It’s a process he takes as seriously as he does his hitting, something that wasn’t always the case.

“I probably didn’t put the same emphasis on defense as I did on hitting my whole life,’’ Goldschmidt said. “You grow up in the minors saying, ‘I’ll just hit.’ That’s what we do a lot at first base. But as I moved up in the minors, I realized if I want to get to the majors, you’ve got to be a good defender.”

Even as he clobbered his way through the Diamondbacks minor league system in less than two full seasons, Goldschmidt altered his thinking.

“If I want to stay up [in the majors] as a rookie, I’m not just gonna go up and mash,’’ Goldschmidt said. “And even if you do, in Arizona, they really talked about defense. That switched my mindset and ever since then, I’ve tried to do everything I can to be as good as defender as I can.’’